This picture shows how frequently and how strongly the wind blows from different directions through a typical December. The largest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue indicates the strength, with the darkest shade of blue showing the strongest winds. It is based on 2457 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2006, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Aberystwyth harbour trap, located 29 km away (18 miles). There are too few recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. Without question some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3.

According to the model, the most common wind at Aberystwyth harbour trap blows from the WSW. If the rose plot shows a nearly round shape, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Aberystwyth harbour trap. By contrast, dominant spokes represent favoured directions, and the more deep blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. Over an average December, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (the lightest shade of blue) about 4% of the time (1 days each December) and blows offshore just 17% of the time (2 days in an average December). In a typical December winds stronger than >40kph (25mph) are expected on 8 days at Aberystwyth harbour trap

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.